Are there any feminists out there?

[roundwindow]

And if so, where are you all hiding?!

Maybe I hang out in the wrong places, but since I left university (and later since I left London where I had a quite lefty arty-farty public sector job) I just feel like I'm the only feminist left on the planet.

I used to think my parents were hideously conservative and archaic with all their 'oh you and your women's lib' responses to my values. But maybe it's just the world of grown-ups?

What made me think about this was that I was recently reading Trinny and Susannah's 'What your clothes say about you' book and the section on new mums seemed so jaw-droppingly misogynist (sp?) to me. 'Pity your poor husband when you don't make an effort, don't be surprised when he leaves you for someone more interesting.... don't even think about wearing flats!' etc etc. And yet this is mainstream, this ideology is everywhere. Makes me so

And the culture in all the gossip magazines, where no young female seems to ever be accepted on her merits and it's all about what she looks like or how undignified her behavour is.

So any other proud-to-be-feminists out there? Tell me what you're thinking about!

Agreeing with a lot of what has been said.

Have you all seen the nostalgic Persil 'Mother' adverts at the moment. They want to make me scream.

Persil

Laughing at the persil ad. It's amazing how it focuses on "whiteness" - gets clothes "that important bit whiter" - so that your kids can play in the street in a really white shirt? Doh!

It's interesting the way that ad like many today just invents things for women to worry about and compete over. It's also interesting just how well that force in society works.

I must get my husband to watch it - he does all the laundry in our house

Yes I'm amazed that laundry ads, nappy ads, etc still seem to target only women. Not only is that sexist, but they're really missing out because we definitely don't have equality yet, it doesn't reflect reality. Plenty of men do laundry, change nappies etc. as much as their female partners do. Why don't ad makers know that?

oops I meant although we definitely don't have equality yet

Ads for household stuff haven't actually chnaged that much have they. Still hingeing on the idea that women's responsibility is the home and kids and that having white whites, a clean bog and nicely turned out children is still the pinnacle of female achievement, and their primary source of satisfaction and self esteem.

Bollocks.

That's why i love the cillit bang man

Feminism is the belief that women should have political, social, sexual, intellectual and economic rights equal to those of men...tis simple (dunno everyones boy pants are gettin in a twist )

That's fine, as long as you're a member of the G8 and don't wear a loin cloth, depend on shooting poison arrows to catch your food and believe (because afterall why not) that a foxes foot prints are a vital means to seeing what the future holds...

Haven't read all the posts, I should be working .

I'm a feminist and in my book that means equalist. My Dh is a SAHD. An equal society should value parenting not mothering. In Norway parents get 18mo parenting leave to be split up whatever way suits - 9 months each or he takes up to 18 months to be a SAHD or she does, whatever suits them. The current society stigamtises men that stay at home, in a truely equalist society men could stay at home to bring up children if they wanted.

I'm interested in the pornification theme on this thread. Am I the only person who thinks that Trinny and Suzanna etc and lapdancing classes are really more about being for women than men? i.e. that most of the preening behaviour in the female of this species is about competing with other females of the species? Many men would s**g anything given a chance, hairy legs or no. It's mostly women who bang on about hairy legs being unattractive. I've never met a man who gives a monkey's about celebrity magazines - I think that it's women who tend to gloat over other women getting fat, having lanky hair, or god forbid, dry heels (the Dr Scholl's advert with the escalator).

I am a feminist. I also run a Guide unit (how quaint ). We asked the Guides, what were the top 5 things they thought a girl their age needed to know.

Numbers one and two?

How to put make up on. How to use hair straighteners.

That's why I am a feminist. I drag them off camping and do stuff called pioneering, so that they realise that "even girls" can build a bridge across a stream using logs and rope.

Bloody hell itsthawooluff that's awful

I am a feminist can't understand why someone wouldn't be.

I thought years ago they did try to change the cleaning adverts (or apparently cleaning companies or advertising companies) did some kind of survey. Survey showed what everyone still knew, women still did all the cleaning. So their adverts are still directed at women!!

Until we have women Mp's or at least 50/50, the same with judges, head of police etc then we will never have an equal society.

Julie Burchill may be mad as a box of frogs, but I've always liked this quote from her:

If a woman answers no to the question "Are you a feminist?", she should immediately be stripped of her voting rights, her right to institute divorce, her legal protection from domestic violence and marital rape - oh, and her pay should be cut to 19% less than that of her male colleagues. Then she could lead the carefree, non-ball-breaking life she so desires, and not be forced to take advantage of all those unpleasant and exhausting social gains which those nasty butch feminists in the 20th century forced on her.